Oregon farmers adopt energy efficiency but could do more, state report says

View full sizeDoug Beghtel/The OregonianTo creatively cut costs, Oregon farmers are looking at smart ways to save energy by using alternative energy sources to power the farm. Solar has become an option for some farmers.

Oregon farmers are eager to put up solar panels, grow oil seeds for fuel and use anaerobic digesters to produce electricity from manure, but are held back by up-front costs and uncertain markets, according to a new report.

Alternative energy or efficiency measures will become increasingly important as costs for fuel, electricity and fertilizer are expected to spike this year, according Stephanie Page, renewable energy specialist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

"One of the conclusions in the report is that we need to continue helping farmers and ranchers reduce their risk from fertilizer, diesel, and other energy input price fluctuations," Page said in a news release.

Nationally, fertilizer, diesel and electricity account for 79 percent of the energy consumed on U.S. farms, according to the report.

The state and utility companies offer incentives to make alternative energy projects more affordable, but financial help often isn't available until the project is finished. Coming up with the initial funding is a problem for some farmers, Page said. In other cases, low or uncertain energy prices discourage farmers, who operate on tight profit and loss margins. Offering higher rates for renewable energy produced on farms might provide greater certainty, she said.

Oregon's farmers haven't abandoned efficiency projects, however.

Nearly 5,000 farms, about half the farms that irrigate crops, reported making water-efficiency improvements from 2003 to 2008, the report said. A total of 2,086 farms said costs decreased as a result.

Elsewhere, a nursery owner in Cornelius installed a solar thermal system to heat her greenhouses, while one in Klamath Falls uses geothermal heat. Some mills now use biomass heat to dry lumber, and two hazelnut growers dry their filberts with furnaces powered by burning shells.

Meanwhile, a farm in Independence processes oil seed crops into bio-diesel, part of the 3.7 million gallons Oregon produced in 2010. The state also produced 37 million gallons of ethanol, but most of it was made from corn grown in the midwest. Opportunities exist for increased bio-diesel and ethanol production in the state, the report concluded.